By Omobayo Azeez
Agricultural company, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, made N4.007 billion as profit after tax (PAT) from its operations in the first six months of 2020. This was significantly higher than the N2.529 billion posted in the same period of 2019.
The company disclosed in an interim management reports for the six month-period it filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Tuesday that it has also paid N1.908 billion from the profit made as dividend to its shareholders,
According to the report, the record performance came on the back of higher revenue and profit before tax during the period, even as its fulfilled tax obligations in the period went up significantly from N306.2 million last year to N1.498 billion this year’s H1.
The turnover of the company, which represents the invoice value of goods and services it rendered to third party during the year, appreciated in favour of domestic sales.
Local sales of its commodities was valued at N12.423 billion from January to June relative to N7.114 billion in the same period of 2019.
Sales of its two major products – oil palm and rubber – to foreign markets however declined by from N1.451 billion in H1 2019 to N1.104 the same period of 2020.
Consequently, total turnover for the period of six months stood at N13.527 billion 57.92 per cent higher than N8.566 billion recorded in as at June last year.
Cost of sales also softened between the period as sales of oil palm cost N996.342 million as against N1.405 in 2019, and that of rubber was estimated at N86.639 million relative to N286.571 million, which put total cost of sales at N1.082 billion compared to N1.692 billion last year. This was despite the 57.92 per cent rise recorded in turnover for the period.
However, running both field and administrative activities of the company cost more than the comparative period of last year as operating expenses soared significantly by 67.44 per cent from N3.962 billion in 2019 to N6.634 billion in the first half of the year in 2020.
With fixed asset growing to N33.606 billion as at June this from their aggregate valuation at N32.124 billion in December last year, and that of current assets standing at N15.885 billion relative to N11.472 billion in December last year; the company’s net assets value is put at N31.279 billion compared to N29.180 billion.
